Dark Leyline part one
by LegendaryFlyingFailure001
Summary: The essence of all of Genes evil has been fused with all the power of the Galactic Leyline.


It sounded strange to even him, but Gene thought that ground had hit him harder than the bullet had. "Makes no sense at all." He thought. But all the same he was sure he would swear till his dying day that it was true. Which, he mused, would probably be today. The spider web of scars crisscrossing Gene Starwind's torso were certainly indicative of the many fights he had gone through. All of these however, were knife wounds only. He had always figured that one day he would eventually be on the receiving end of a gunshot. But he would never have imagined it would be by his own gun. Still though, he did take some assurance-perhaps his final moment of arrogant confidence, that the only man alive who was able to kill him was himself. "How in the hell did this even happen?"

"How in the hell _did_ this happen?" Gene Starwind's partner, Jim Hawking was not pleased with the current predicament.

"It's a long story Jim and we don't really have the time for it right now! Just gimme a shell and stay the hell down."

"Damnit Gene these shells are expensive and you can't just waste them on a petty bar fight! Besides you can't fire a caster shell in here you blow the whole building apart!"

In reality Jim's reaction to the current situation was not entirely justified. Jim couldn't actually recall them having ever been in a bar that Gene hadn't started a fight in at one point or another. Still the same question crossed his mind. How the hell did this happen? Here they were _broke again!_ After everything that happened with Mel and the galactic leyline. The _galactic leyline!_ The treasure of all treasures. And what had they come back with? Nothing. It was criminal. They found the source of every treasure and all the knowledge in the entire universe and they had returned with _nothing_. No wait that wasn't quite right, he thought. If they had come back with nothing then they would have come out even. What they had come back with was a ship badly in need of a paint job, two spent engines-both on the starboard side, ( That had made landing back on Sentinel interesting.) _eight_ used castor shells, every single round of ammunition fired from the ship, and not a single penny to show for it. And that would be why they were here. The Outlaw Star could fly thanks to a generous grant from the Space Forces who had been ever-so-grateful to Gene for taking care of Hazanko and the rest of the kay pirates. But that was all. So they were here. In the middle of a bar on Xenon looking for a bounty that Gene just hadn't been able to pass up. They hadn't been in the bar for more than five minutes when Gene had managed to pick a fight. So here they were. Hiding behind a turned over table ( they always seemed to be handy ) while people were shooting at them _again _( that seemed to happen a lot too ) and as usual Gene wasn't using his head, conserving ammunition, and he was planning to fire a castor shell _inside_ a brick building.

"Damnit Gene if you shoot that thing off in here you'll kill us all!"

"Well we might as well take them with us!"

Reluctantly Jim had to admit that he had a point. Even more reluctantly he handed Gene the second to last castor shell they had fully aware that this day was going to end poorly.

"It's about time!" Gene said cramming the shell into his trademark castor. "Eat this you bastards!"

Twilight Suzuka, the most lethal and dangerous woman alive in the universe, the galaxy renowned assassin, was an extremely difficult woman to surprise. Any who managed to catch her off guard was either extremely unpredictable, or highly skilled. Murder and mayhem had no effect on her. She was passive, like the wind. As of current she was on a backwater free colony called Xenon and was feeling as optimistic as she ever did. At any rate we can be certain that she was experiencing only calmness as the building she passed on her right exploded. Although it had managed to dissettle her slightly she regained her composure in an amount of time most men cannot even measure. A bystander would have sworn that she never even moved her legs that she simply willed her body to move at an immeasurable speed away from the flying shrapnel. As she landed-if indeed she had even moved at all (perhaps she had simply been there the entire time and the sight of her walking was an illusion) she turned her attention to the ash and wreckage to see two figures standing among the rubble. Feeling much more relaxed the entire bizarre sequence of events made perfect sense to her now and she continued on her way.

As the debris rained down on them like water it finally struck Gene that firing off a castor shell in an enclosed space may not have been the smartest thing he had ever done. Not the he was about to let that show-but he did register it for the sake of experience. The particular experience of being blown backward through a brick wall had not appealed to him and he did not wish to repeat it. Of course he couldn't give Jim the pleasure of being right.

"Wahoo! Did you see that partner I told you this would work out fine."

"Are you mad Gene? You almost got us killed?"

"Well I'll guess I'll have to try harder next time then won't I?"

"This isn't funny Gene. We gotta get the hell outta here?"

With much less grace than Suzuka, both Gene and Jim ran like hell for Jim's car. Gene never fully understood Jim's love for that car. It was nice for sure but there much better cars out there and at least they oughtta be able to afford something that would start on the first try. When they were certain that there was enough distance between them and the sad remains of yet another random bar Gene had destroyed, Jim felt that it was safe enough to continue the conversation.

"Gene, why did we come to this planet?"

"We came here because of that job. I haven't forgotten Jim."

"This guy's worth a lot of money Gene. Do you have any idea what we could do with _600,000 wong?_" It would be _more _than enough to fix the Outlaw Star _and _replace the paint _and _all the ammunition we need. Not to mention we could easily have enough money to rebuild the shop on Sentinel. And after that there would _still_ be more money left to account for more in our account than we've ever had before!"

"Okay so what does this have to do with blowing up a random bar in the middle of nowhere?"

"Well genius, don't you think that's a ridiculous amount of money for _one _bounty? This guy must be pretty tough if the Space Forces are willing to spend all that money just to have him killed. They say he's killed over a thousand people in just three months. AND YOU JUST WENT AND USED A CASTOR SHELL THAT COULD KNOCK A SATALITE OUT OF ORBIT ON A BUNCH OF DRUNKEN MORONS IN A BAR! Don't you think you could have _used _that castor shell?"

"As much as I see your point Jim, I think you're getting way too bent out of shape. Remember we're the ones who found the Galactic Leyline. Nobody in the whole galaxy is tougher than us. We are the most lethal duo alive and I am the best fighter anywhere on this side of the solar system!"

_ Best in the solar system, _Gene thought as he lay on the hard ground. Well at least I know I wasn't wrong. Melfina's scream was drowned by the pounding rain, or maybe it was just a little blurry from Gene's loss of blood from the gunshot. Laying on his back with his head turned to one side he could see Suzuka bleeding but already dead only a few yards away. I am the best fighter in the galaxy, he thought. The only person who could have possibly killed me was…me. I never expected to have to fight myself though. I mean who would? It's completely impossible though isn't it? Not that it matters now. So this is how it ends. I die by my own gun…shot by…me. The laugh that came from the blurring dark figure standing over him couldn't have been his voice. But it was his face. His twin scars on his left cheek that it was coming from. The only notable difference was that this person's hair was as black as the depths of space as opposed to Gene's rust colored red. The dark eyes glowed with a familiar energy that Gene couldn't quite place. He would swear that they even gave off light, but that was probably related to the euphoria that he hoped was a good sign that he was about to pass out.

The sun shown like a golden halo against the eminent blackness of space. Like all free colonies, Xenon had no atmosphere to speak of. No clouds to obstruct the omnipotent emptiness of space. Gene paused for a moment outside of the rented apartment. The last time, he thought, the last time I looked into space like that was back on Blue Heaven. He had only just met Melfina back then. It had been clear from the very start that she was a highly unusual individual even among androids. What was it he had said back then? "I'll bet you could search the whole galaxy and never find one like you…" Now it had been over a whole year since then. He was starting to wonder on occasion exactly how things would eventually end with Melfina. After all the time they had spent together-she was still an android. Gene knew he was still young but someday he wouldn't be. Not that it mattered as of the moment. After the leyline he felt as though they could handle anything.

"Gene!" Melfina opened the door like she always did, surprised and glad to have him back not at all changed since the day he had woken her from cryosleep.

"Don't be too nice to him today Mel. He almost got us killed." Jim may not be able to do much about Gene's judgment but Mel always seemed to be able to calm him down. And he had been overly Gene-ish today. Even Gene didn't normally waste a castor shell for a drunken bar brawl. He had to wonder if maybe Gene was a little more nervous about this guy they were here for than he was showing.

"Aw Jim don't exaggerate. I had everything under control."

"What happened?" Mel always had to hear about even the most menial details of their day. Not that an exploding building was necessarily menial but in the case of Gene and Jim it wasn't all that uncommon of an occurrence.

"Gene why do always have to go and do something like that? You'll get yourself hurt someday."

"Relax Mel. Nothings gonna ever happen to me. Who would look after you then?"

"I think that was her point Gene."

_ Nothings ever going to happen to me…_Gene tried to think of how long ago it was that he had said that. A day at most. Melfina's voice blended with the rain and the inhuman laughing. Everything was only color and the colors became other colors. They slowly blurred into a swirling vortex and he felt himself fall through the hard, wet, ground.

Gene woke up as suddenly as if he had been shot. Melfina was motionless beside him and he knew his startle hadn't awoken her. The sun still shown like a halo in the black sky. He knew it wasn't really a sun. It was only a star that was abnormally close to the colony. Xenon, like Blue Heaven had no sun nor any moon. Only endless stars and an endless sea of blackness. He lay on his back for a moment trying to asses what had awoken him. He had been having a dream. After a moments hesitation the dream came to him, like a small child lost and helpless; not entirely willing but obedient none the less. It had been a dream of his first space flight. The first and last time he had traveled with his father on his father's old cargo freighter. The ship had been attacked by two mercenaries who called themselves outlaws named the Mc Doogle brothers. He had watched from a jettisoned escape pod as his ship with his father on it had been turned to dust. And now the memory had come back to him. He had thought for an instant that he might have finally put it behind him. But it was there still. That hadn't woken him though. It was this new job. He had never even heard of a bounty of 600,000 wong. It was unprecedented. The rumors that this person had killed 1000 people in three months was unnerving as well. Rumors could well be just that. But there was always the one that was completely true. Like the galactic leyline. Even when he had made his promise to Melfina he had never dreamed that they would actually find it. He realized what it was that was bothering him. Tomorrow he was going to find this man. Gene remembered the last time he had headed into a fight that he believed could kill him. It had turned out that his opponent was an imposter and that his true enemy was one of the renowned Enten seven. That was when he had felt this kind of apprehension. On the night he believed would be the last of his life. He sat up in the bed fully aware that the motion would wake up Melfina. She stirred, more he supposed out of habit than out of actual weariness. Because Melfina was an android she did not experience this. When she was awake she was awake. And when she slept, she slept. The moments of waking were something she did simply to make herself more human. Having her awake would take his attention for a moment at least. She always seemed able to calm him. He felt better just having her there.

"Gene." Her voice was like a whisper in the wind "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing Mel." Gene never lied to her and it didn't feel good to do so now. But there wasn't any sense in getting her worried now. He had done a hundred body jobs before. This wasn't going to be anything different. "I just couldn't sleep."

"Gene don't lie to me. I know when something's wrong. You haven't been yourself since we landed on Xenon."

This, Gene thought, was why he never lied to her. There wasn't any point in doing so. Melfina really was a perfect replicate of a woman even to the point of her woman's intuition.

"It's this job we've got lined up. Something about it just doesn't seem quite right to me. Six-hundred-thousand wong is just not normal even for a hit. Even Suzuka doesn't charge that much for a hit and this is a regular bounty. I don't know how this is gonna end, but I do know that we have got to be ready for anything. Right?"

"Right."

"As long as we do that we can handle whatever this guy has to throw at us."

"Right." Mel waited expecting more but was met with silence. Even after everything we've been through, she thought, he is still reluctant to open up to me completely. Melfina knew that was no fault of hers. Gene would only keep things from her that worried her. That thought worried her.

_ "Gene!"_ Melfina heard her own voice not entirely sure she had said anything. It didn't seem possible. But he was on the ground not moving. She recalled everything that had happened. It played in her mind in slow motion like a holograph. They had exchanged words for a moment. Gene had seemed taken aback by something about this man. He did look familiar-even from this distance. Then something odd had happened. Gene had hit the ground. The other man hadn't even moved yet he was standing passively as though he were observing the endless white flowers. As Melfina watched, the other man seemed to flicker and there was a gunshot and the unmistakable flash from a gun from the other man and Gene hit the ground which began to turn red around him. The gunshot replayed again and again in Melfina's head and she saw him. Saw him lying on the ground bleeding, saw him getting shot, and saw him falling and it was all happening at the same time she saw this and was unable to distinguish what order it was happening in.

"No no no no. Absolutely not you are not coming with us."

"Gene." Melfina had been arguing this point for the better part of the last hour and had started thinking about it the moment he had waken her (deliberately she had assumed) during the hours that qualified as night on Xenon. "How do you know you won't need me? Remember that time on Hey Fong? What would you have done with the cactus if I hadn't been there?"

"It's not a psychic cactus Mel. It's a person. Look, this guy's itchin for a fight. And I plan to give him the fight of his life. But if I'm gonna do that I don't want you around Mel. I don't need the distraction."

"For once I think Gene might be right Melfina." Jim stuck his head in the kitchen. "Something isn't right about this job. For starters there's the bounty. It's too big it makes no damn sense to offer that much money for a hit. Second this guy stays in the same place. Everyone knows where to find him which isn't normal for a fugitive. Plus the rumors about this guy are completely radical. I don't know if I believe all of them but some of them are bound to be true. The Space Forces won't even try to arrest this guy. I heard he wiped the floor with 50 officers at the same time and even knocked their spaceship right out of orbit."

"Look Mel." Damnit it Jim I don't think that helped any, Gene thought. "I'm sure this guy is no different than every other guy I've gone up against. But all the same I need you to stay here and wait till we get back. I promise we'll be back."

The same sun was still in the sky as they drove off to meet the strange man. It remained there watching passively as Gene and Jim moved in the antique hover car towards the place were their quarry lay waiting. Virtually nothing was known about the man they sought. Only what lay in rumors was available. The only piece of definitive evidence was that of his home. He had taken residence in an abandoned Cathedral in the middle of the ruins of an old town that for reasons unknown, had disappeared from the face of the earth. Some say it was even on the day the mysterious man had arrived that this had occurred. Whatever was known about him, Jim was certain that he was extraordinarily intelligent. His home was not approachable by any kind of vehicle. No hover car could possibly move across the terrain that surrounded the ancient building. Nor could any space ship land there. This meant that they had to approach his territory on foot. Wordless they passed through the gate that Jim swore was made of pure iron although that was ridiculous. No one had used iron since the discovery of dragonite for such things. The Cathedral door was vast and intimidating. Even Gene was quiet as they entered the vast Sanctuary inside of it.

"Gene Starwind." The man they had come for had been waiting. He stood with his back to them facing an enormous alter nearly as tall as the massive building itself. His clothes were all black. His voice was low. It may well have been a thousand voices. It resonated like thunder in the vast enclosure around them but it spoke as though a whisper. "Gene Starwind." It repeated. "Have you come to answer my question?"

That voice, Gene thought. I know that voice but…it isn't possible.

"Have you come to answer my question?" The irregular voice persisted-not strained in any way but eerily calm. "Or perhaps you have forgotten what my question for you is."

"He's been waiting for us Gene." Jim whispered beside him. "Some how he knew we were coming. I don't like this one damn bit." Gene didn't even respond. He was transfixed by the back of the figure that stood, not facing them, in the semidarkness."

"What is thy desire Gene?" Gene's blood ran colder than he thought possible. What the hell? He thought quietly What the hell is going on here?

"I see you are still not going to answer my question." The still figure said. "Perhaps-"

"Hey! Who the hell are you and what the hell do you have to do with the galactic leyline?" Gene was becoming himself again. The initial shock had worn off for a moment. Faster than most people could follow he brought his short barreled shotgun out of his holster and leveled it directly at the person's head in front of him. "I'd start talking if I were you. Otherwise your lifespan is gonna start to get disappointing."

"So quick to use…violence on a man who has not shown himself to be your enemy."

"Hey pal." Gene's characteristic confidence seemed to be in its rightful place again. "I don't know if you realize this but I came here to kill you. If you think there's a way to do that without violence feel free to let me know."

"Do you know who I am…?"

"No. I've sure heard a lot about you but I doubt much of it is too true. The real pity here though is that I just don't give a damn. I don't know how in the hell you know so much about the galactic leyline but I you're real smart you'll start to enlighten me very soon and quit with the damn games."

"Gene…I am the leyline." The Dark figure turned around to show them his face. As he stepped out of the shadow his features revealed his hair as black as the emptiness of space. A lean wiry frame with a star shaped scar on the face. His dark eyes reflected light from the dark room. There was no question who this was. It was Gene.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Jim was completely taken back by the still man's appearance. "He looks just like you Gene!"

"Congratulations." Gene said hiding his surprise, "You have my attention."

"I am the leyline. I am the source of all power and knowledge in the universe. I was born of you own soul left behind as a catalyst used to defeat your enemies."

_ A catalyst?_ Gene thought. Does he mean the castor shells?

"Yes Gene." The leyline responded. "The castor shells."

"So I guess you can read minds huh?"

"I can do far more than that."

"Oh yeah? Huh. Well I'll bet you saw this coming then huh?" Gene pulled the trigger on the shotgun. Nothing happened.

"I am the leyline. Everything is how I say it is. I decide what is possible and what is not. I decide what is _reality._ I removed all of the ammunition from your guns the second you entered this building."

"Gene this is really not good. We gotta get out of here."

"Hang on there partner." Gene put his gun away. "Do you really think he's gonna let us leave? He's been waiting for us. I would guess he has something to say. Otherwise if he's really as tough as he says he is he would have already killed us."

"I'm afraid that is not correct my brother." The leyline took a small step forward. "You see, I do intend to kill you. You are going to die today Gene Starwind. But it was very much my wish to meet myself before I would destroy him. Indeed you have done many great things. The Outlaw Star is no ordinary vessel by any means. And Melfina is certainly quite a catch as well. She is most certainly uni-"

"You Bastard!" This time it was the castor aimed between the leyline's pupils. "What have you done with Melfina?"

"Brother, why have you come to the conclusion that I would harm her? I have merely brought her here. To witness your end. It is only fitting that the maiden of the leyline should witness the death of her Lord. As of present she sleeps peacefully in this very edifice. She will awaken when I wish for her to. And very soon thereafter you are going to die."

"Looks like I don't have much of a choice but to fight you then. I guess that's fine with me. Hell, I wouldn't have it any other way. I always did pity the guy that had to fight me. Now it just looks like I'll have to pity both of us."

"Brother, when the time comes you will not fight. You will simply die. But I have no wish of killing you yet. We are family you and I. We should have a civil conversation like any brothers would. I'm certain that you have questions for me. There is no need to die having never discovered them. You have the potential to acquire any information you could possibly desire."

"Yeah I do have a question. How the hell can anyone kill you?"

"It cannot be done! I am the leyline. I surpass all. I will live forever."

"You sounded kind of nervous there for a moment. I think you're lying."

"Perhaps yes and perhaps no. But this is I'm afraid or conversation will continue momentarily as I have an uninvited guest."

"So this is it." Suzuka said softly. The towering cathedral in front of her was home to the most dangerous man she had ever known. She recalled the first time she had seen the dark haired man. It had been only from a distance but she had seen him. Watched him destroy every person on Blue Heaven systematically. Had hidden. She had hidden. Her. Twilight Suzuka the greatest assassin in the galaxy, the most lethal woman alive had hid. Like a child. "No more hiding." She said. "Not this time." The fact that he was virtually identical to Gene did not bother her in the slightest. She had killed a kay pirate at the leyline whose face had been identical to her own. Hitoriga had killed her entire family but had fallen in love with Suzuka. He had changed his own face to be identical to hers. No his appearance was of no consequence. Anyone could change their appearance. But his…_power_. Not just strength but pure _power!_ It had been completely unlike anything she had ever witnessed. She would have to end this quickly. "This monster must die." She prepared to enter the massive structure.

"Our guest requires an appropriate greeting." The leyline said slowly. "Should I kill her outright? I believe she is an acquaintance of yours. Well we must bid her welcome at any rate. I do intend to be a gracious host." At these words Suzuka, feeling surprise for the second time that day. (She could not recall the last time that had happened.) Appeared as though she had been there the entire time but undetectable by human eyes. She stood in front of the towering alter. Rooted to the ground she tried to comprehend what had just happened.

"Suzuka!" Gene and Jim said her name at the same time.

"Twilight Suzuka." The leyline was calm as ever. "The great Twilight Suzuka has chosen to grace me with her presence. Yours however is not a social visit. You mean to kill me and I assure you, you will be given an opportunity to make your feeble attempt."

"Gene you've got to get out of here! This man isn't normal. He murdered every person on Blue Heaven and he'll kill you too!"

"He what!" This is a very bad day, Jim thought. How could this possibly happen?

"You really are something aren't you?" Gene was less calm than he sounded but he wasn't about to let the leyline know it.

"Please do not mask your fear. Your mind is as open to me as it is to you."

"Enough!" Suzuka had been pushed to the edge. "I am going to destroy you. You are a monster." Never before had she been so determined to kill her quarry. No one but Gene was alive to truly know of her speed. She moved like the wind faster than the speed of light. Faster than a ship in sub-ether drive she crossed the great room to annihilate her foe. The technique she had sworn was only for Hitoriga, the man who killed her family was what she intended to use. Her bokudo was lowered for a blow that could cross a small moon into two pieces. No one but her even saw her move. The evil had its back to her. She would finish this. Though Gene was a skilled fighter he had no hope of so much as seeing her movements. That is the measure of what her resolve was. She stopped short of her target. For the third time in 24 hours she was utterly perplexed. Her Bokudo would not move and it was mere _inches _from the man's flesh. Then she saw and realized that she had no future any more. He was going to kill her and every person in the entire galaxy and nothing could stop him. He had grabbed her sword behind his back without even looking. She stopped for a full ten seconds staring in complete disbelief and as she did so he squeezed the bokudo with two fingers and broke it into two pieces. Slowly he turned to face her. An iron grip so tight it completely cut off her air wrapped around her neck and he thrust her hard enough to crack her skull into the ominous alter behind her. She slammed hard into it and a crack ran up the middle. With an outstretched hand he held her in place from the distance of the entire massive room without even touching her. Fear filled Suzuka like she never even believed herself possible to experience for less than an instant. Every bone in her body broke at once, blood poured from her body and Twilight Suzuka died.

Jim stood rooted to the ground. He beat Suzuka. Jim thought. He killed the most lethal woman in the galaxy without even trying. It finally settled in his mind that they were going to die. Gene was going to lose. They had no hope of beating him. Even a number 3 shell probably wouldn't affect this guy at all. He watched intently as Gene with a rage that Jim had never seen moved like lightning. Gene intended to kill this person.

Gene moved faster than he thought possible to kill the man called leyline. Fury filled him like nothing he had ever experienced. A crushing blow hit him full in the chest, as he was knocked backward he felt his ribs crack. He landed on his back and saw Jim behind him not moving. Confusion was immediately set aside and ignoring the hellfire burning in his chest he lunged at the leyline again. On his feet he drew back for a bone-crunching blow to the leyline's face. And stopped dead. He couldn't move a single inch. He couldn't even move his eyes. The leyline stared calmly at him.

"I am the leyline. I decide what is and what is not. The very flow of time itself is at my command. You will move when I designate you to do so. All of time has stopped and I will choose a fitting place for you to die." At these words they stood suddenly in a vast field of millions of white flowers. Each of them was exactly as they had been in the cathedral but the cathedral was no longer there. It gone at the whim of the leyline just exactly as it had come. Melfina stood at a distance also frozen in time. And Twilight Suzuka lay dead on the ground past the leyline. "I am immortal Gene. There is no power in existence that can defeat me. I wished to meet myself as I have told you. Now I have. You are helpless against me and I will kill you now. As he said this he took a single step forward and was inches from Gene's face though he had been several yards away. He drew the small caliber handgun from its holster unceremoniously. "See Gene? It's loaded now." He fired from less than a foot away. Gene thought briefly as he hit the ground that it seemed as thought the ground had hit him harder than the bullet had. Then he died.

Gene fell through time and space. Lights whirled around him and familiar symbols flashed in front of his eyes. Then all was blackness around him until a voice spoke to him.

"What is thy desire?" The voice was female. It sounded like the wind and like rushing water. "What is thy desire?"

"Are you…the galactic leyline?"

"Yes I am. You have been killed Gene. You are now dead as is the fashion of all who live. To each person is given a single opportunity to change their fate. Yours has already come and passed."

"Why am I back here then? Why have I returned to the leyline? Didn't you just kill me?"

"That was not the leyline. That was merely a shadow of yourself."

"I don't understand."

"When you came here last you battled many great and terrible enemies. Against these enemies you utilized without even knowing it a power so great it was forbidden by those who discovered it."

"The castor shells?"

"Yes Gene. The magic infused with those shells is forbidden. They consume the yin of men and by using the magic in this place you have created a force more great and terrible than any that the world has known. All of your yin has been formed into the being that killed you. It is infused with all of my power. In essence it is the incarnation of the evil in both of us."

"Why am I here then? Does everyone come here when they die?"

"No. You have been brought here because I must be destroyed."

"I don't follow."

"The leyline is the source of all power in the universe. It even has the power reverse. It does not however, have the authority to claim life. You are to be sent back Gene. Life will be granted to you if you wish it. He who finds the leyline is entitled to a single wish. You did not answer my question and your wish will be used to revive you. You are to destroy the being that has killed you. You are to avenge your own death because this creature will kill every living thing in the entire galaxy. And he will not cease once that is accomplished either. Or you may remain in the afterlife and no longer bare the pain of living."

"Send me back. I'll get that bastard."

"You do not require any more time for your decision?"

"Not at all."

"It is done. I wish you well in your endeavors."

"If that means good luck then thanks. I'll need it."

The gunshot echoed in Gene Starwinds ears. He sat up with a start. There was screaming all around him. People were everywhere! Some one shouted. "She's dead!" Panic was everywhere. Gene stood covered in his own blood. Jim saw him stand though he had never seen him fall. A large man nearly ran him over as he yelled he was going for the lawmen. Jim had never seen Gene like this before. His eyes burned like a fire. Shear determination screamed from him. His very soul was aflame. Melfina ran up next to him and began asking questions but all that Gene could see at first was the broken body of Twilight Suzuka in the middle of a crowded street.

"Jim." He said strangely in control of his voice. "Load up the Outlaw Star. We're going back to Tenrei."

_This is my first story. I loved Outlaw Star when I was a kid and now that I own the entire series I think it's criminal that they never made more episodes. If you like this lemme know. There's already more to the story I have planned but I won't finish it if no one likes it. Hope you enjoyed: )_


End file.
